Ha. That's a joke. Although the premise of regularizaion (best translated - tutoring) is academics, for me the real purpose is to befriend these students and to walk alongside them in their lives. Through all the frustrations of working with 4-year olds on a daily basis, these five students have brought laughter, perspective, and entertainment to my "work" life.
The truth? Yes, I do "teach" English on Mondays, and I do "teach" math and spanish on Tuesdays, but the reality is:
On Mondays I spend the first half hour of my time with the 13 year olds just hanging out...talking about life, love, and other mysteries. Then for about an hour we work on English, as they have just begun taking English classes this year. These three students, though at times a handful (like any junior-high age kids would be), have refreshed my life. I highly doubt they have learned much English from me, but we have had some good times together. And they remind me weekly how much I enjoy working with that age group.
On Tuesdays, I spend about an hour with a brother and sister who used to attend La Buena Tierra but who have since graduated and are now attending the regular/public/government schools. These two kids are so bright, and I am so sad that their schooling doesn't do more to stretch them. Hopefully our time together on Tuesday mornings has expanded their minds and encouraged their critical thinking skills more than their daily school does. (For example, the boy didn't go to school for about 2 weeks last month simply because his teacher was sick.) They are delightful children, always bringing laughter and crazy imaginations to our time together.
Brenda, myself, and Oscar
hard hard at work
Yesterday, for our last "class," we went to see Toy Story 3. Good times, great movie.
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